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PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:02 am 
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Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:52 pm
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Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hi all...

I'm thinking it might be a great experience to go and sail in the 2013 Multihull Championship in Sausalito in September. As you probably know this year it is being sailed on Hobie 16's and it will be the open for the Americas Cup! What a great experience! (I'd be completely out sailed! :lol: But it seems like a rare opportunity.) Problem is that getting my boat from Florida to California is going to be a challenge that I don't really want to take part in. Does anybody have any leads or ideas about renting or chartering a 16 for the event?

Anybody else thinking about going? :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:50 am 
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Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:28 pm
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Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Seems like if there were ever an event Hobie would want to sponsor boats for this would be it. Coupled with the Americas Cup, the advertising opportunity is huge.

Yea, I know about all the politics around US sailing, lack of sponsorship, rotating fleet, BYOB, blah, blah, blah. And I know the Matt and the Hobie guys hate it when we suggest how they should run their business on the forum...

...BUT, If I could get my product this type of visibility for a ~$250-300k investment in boats that I could easily resell after the event, I'd have a fleet of completely tricked out Hobie16's with special edition sails and hull stickers plastered all over SF bay...

...and Hobie yaks filling in the gaps. :D

just my $.02

And Matt, if you want to ship one of those boats to NC after the race with a reasonable discount, tell me where to sign up. :D


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:56 pm 
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Location: Thunder Bay,On
What you are talking about is exactly what they do for the Pro Sail Series in Germany.They have special Sponsed Sails, Sail close to shore and even have a play by play announcer.
Btw put me on the list for a chartered boat .


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:58 pm 
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Location: Lake Gaston, NC
I'm interested too. Pam and I probably can't both leave for that long then, but I'm up for skippering or crewing if a ride should turn up.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:17 am 
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Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I have to agree... It would seem like a marketing dream come true for Hobie. But they have their reasons I'm sure.

I emailed Laura Sullivan, the race organizer and asked her about rentals or leads on rentals thinking they may have some in place and her reply was a little less than encouraging - Figure it out for your self basically.

I guess I'll have to start trying to email any clubs and Hobie Fleets in the area?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:07 pm 
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Location: Charlottesville, VA
I think Matt Miller explained pretty well in a post several months ago that the market (in general) is not into high-performance cats. We may now be the outliers in the Hobie strategy since we aren't fishing, running resort rental fleets, paddling around with our families, etc. I'm sure I'm paraphrasing a lot here, but I don't mean it negatively. Hobie is successful spending their money where they're spending it. As much as we would like to see a big campaign that results in new discount boats for us, it might not be a great business decision.

I've seen the same thing happen in BMW motorcycles (my work). The product lines that built the BMW name, and their riders, are part of BMW's past. Those riders wish BMW would embark on all kinds of money-losing propositions that would "adhere to our roots" and make the 'perfect retro bike' (that wouldn't actually sell), but BMW knows what it's doing and the new, lucrative markets have shifted.

As far as I know, the Hobies will be there in SF Bay whether HCC does anything or not. And while there will be a concentration of high-performance catamaran loving sailors there, they already know about Hobies so HCC doesn't need to preach to the choir. And the spectators will see H16s racing no matter what, and if they want one they will buy a new one retail.

All that said, I think it's a cool idea, also, and I could probably have my arm twisted to buy a lightly used 2013/2014 H16 in cool and unique AC2013 livery.

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:17 pm 
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If Hobie wants to use that event for marketing.. Which I think they ABSOLUTELY should be all over...


and the budget it isn't there...



We just need one streaker... :shock: :shock: :shock:






The coverage would have to be worth way more than the legal fees...




:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


(just kidding)

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:39 pm 
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AntonLargiader wrote:

As far as I know, the Hobies will be there in SF Bay whether HCC does anything or not. And while there will be a concentration of high-performance catamaran loving sailors there, they already know about Hobies so HCC doesn't need to preach to the choir. And the spectators will see H16s racing no matter what, and if they want one they will buy a new one retail.
.



There will be a lot of people out there spending lots of money... generally with lots more to spend.... and thanks to the Americas Cup this year are being introduced to mutlihull high performance sailing...

What better market could you dream up to put on a display of Hobie Cats...

" Nearly all the fun of the big bad boats... For 1/100 of the cost.. "


Heck... it is what I tell people I think might be interested is crewing... :twisted:

I understand costs for advertising would be high... probably prohibitively so... But dang... Here you are on the Cup Course.. as the opening event... and the link to find out more is a 404... If you are running the event... Social Media is cheap... come on already!








Seriously... Heck if I am pulling my boat anywhere... and I stop for gas, whatever, Nearly always someone asks me about it... And our fleet is growing..


Arguing that folks are NOT interested is sailing is utter nonsense as far as I am concerned..

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:20 pm 
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Im sure Hobie will show up in SF Bay peddling their kayaks, slow plastic boats, old man fishing gear, etc....somebody will be pimping the AI's as actual sailboats, convincing some uninformed newbie that rocking an AI is real sailing.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:19 am 
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Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
So it looks like I have a boat to rent - a regularly raced 2005.

I'll take my own sails, rudders and blocks etc. Now I just need to convince the wife that this is a great opportunity but every time I bring up the subject I get a lot of static! Perhaps something shiny might change her mind? LOL


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 1:54 pm 
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Location: Detroit, MI
If it's a regularly raced 2005, then why are you bothering with rudders and blocks? It came with EPO2s and low-profile Harken blocks.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:07 am 
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Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
As far as my blocks go, I have them reeved a certain way and the angle of the cleat set just right for me... Plus they are easy to travel with so no big deal.

As far as the rudders go, I thought they weren't EPO 2's but have since leant that they are so probably no need to take mine. :-)




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